Eneloops would only last about 3 weeks. And disposable last 2 months. This door is used a lot and since it has Zwave and a door open sensor it sends info on every open.
Bonus, since it can handle the lipo AA batteries that put out 1.8v and it gives the motor more oomph I made the battery pack give 7.2v and it never sticks anymore.
This is a garage-door so its not critical access but is used a lot.
What about mounting a wireless charging pad to the doorframe to keep it charged? Is that an option?
rechargeable AA suck.
No they don’t
They do … 1.2v output is low compared to the 1.5v alkaline … they lose charge as they sit there doing nothing unless Enerloop which is expensive and still 1.2v - I recently converted the wife’s led candles (2 x AA) each to 2 18650 each and now I don’t have to charge the things for 15 or so weeks. This guy knows.
The internal resistance is much lower than that of an alkaline, so for some applications, a 1.2V NiMH will match or beat a 1.5V alkaline, but if you really need the extra 0.3V, then they’re really pants.
I bought rechargeable AA lithium batteries. They have a usbc slot on the positive end. Really handy. They do 1.5V.
This is great, so far I have only seen hardwired options, never seen someone do a expanded battery mod for their smart lock.
Battery eliminators are the way I hardwired my smart locks. You can find these on amazon in various battery sizes and combinations. Combining this with a Voltmeter Adjustable Boost Modul, doing some wiring, and then plugging all this into the wall means no battery changes every 3-4 months.
Here’s a video of something similar to my setup.
Wait until you hear about this neat invention called a “key”. They are quite wonderful, they can securely lock and unlock your door in any conditions and don’t need those pesky batteries.
Wait until you hear about this neat invention called a “smart lock”. It uses this marvelous key invention you kindly detailed but it also uses magic powered rocks that can send small vibrations in the air to communicate with other magic rocks at home. If their magic energy source is depleted the object you refer to as a “key” may also be operated on this mystical lock to which the lock then whispers: “just let people enjoy things”.
Damn, didn’t know they made keys that automatically lock the doors when I leave the house so I can’t forgetfully leave the doors unlocked.
Wait till you hear about memory
Pretty sure I can’t afford that these days
There are bolts with a clutch, so they are always locked from the outside and unlocked from the inside. Pretty handy.
I’m not sure I understand how that’d work. How would they know when the door was closed so they could automatically lock the deadbolt? Or would you need to use a key to close the door from the outside?
The one I’ve seen was mechanical, not electric. The interior handle can open the door irrespective of the door being locked or not.
They are expensive, but they do exist, it’s called a mechanical keyless deadbolt. A local makerspace put one on their back entrance so that members/employees can come and go after hours without having to give everyone a key or use a smart app.
Ohhh, there is a keypad but it’s mechanical. Neat!
You can’t figure out how to lock your door? Damn I don’t think I’d admit that.
You can’t read? Damn I don’t think I’d admit that.
In case it still isn’t clear, I said I am forgetful.
Oh perfect it’s lunch time, I needed some salt for my fries.
the batteries in mine last a year and I don’t have to carry around any keys but my car keys (when I take the car).
definitely worth it. I can leave the house with nothing but my phone or bank card and run errands etc. people can access my house when I want them to without issue. it’s a huge QoL improvement for me
that said, I’d still prefer an electronic lock that had a key as well, and wasn’t a touchscreen
Agreed. The kids can open the door now quickly, and it’s easier. When we were looking for electronic locks, it had to have no wifi and a key. It was harder to find then you might think. 
Any recs then? That’s basically my criteria as well. I’m already paranoid enough to carry keys any way but it would make things more convenient.
It’s not a deadbolt (they have some), but we found a Schlage we liked. I can’t find it on the site, but search for electronic not smart. It might have been Home Depot.
It was easy to install and the battery hasn’t run out after over a year. I’ve used the key maybe once.
I want to replace mine with one like this. what’d you end up going with?
It’s not a deadbolt (they have some), but we found a Schlage we liked. I can’t find it on the site, but search for electronic not smart. It might have been Home Depot.
It was easy to install and the battery hasn’t run out after over a year. I’ve used the key maybe once.
It’s one fucking key, it’s not exactly difficult to carry or keep track of.
it is non-zero
also yes, one small key is exactly the kind of thing that can be difficult to keep track of. did it fall out of my pocket? which backpack pocket was it in? did it clip in properly? do I need to carry a lanyard now too to keep track of it?
or like just don’t worry about that at all. clear improvement.
Enjoy your self imposed helplessness, I’ll keep using a fucking keychain.
you’re on a weird mission here
I’ll keep enjoying my freedom and not being chained to paying attention to carrying around a tiny object
Oh thanks I’ll never forget my keys again, awesome, I hadn’t thought of it like that.
glad to help
Not op. I hear what you’re saying, and it’s a valid point.
But once you go digital lock, it’s hard to go back. So convenient.
Heck, mine was just a standalone lock with a keypad, I’ve had one on every rental in some form or another for the last 15 years. Until this year…
We just moved into our first house, and the main door we want to use is seemingly incapable of fitting a keypad onto it. The handle is so close to the window frame, that it won’t fit. It’s very annoying. So for the last few months we’ve been using a regular key, and it’s annoying.
First, my in laws needed to watch our cat while we were gone, so I left out a spare key, which they then kept 😖
It’s rude to ask for it back, while simultaneously hoping to ask them for help again in the future. But, they are also the type to just come over whenever, without calling ahead or asking, whether we’re home or not. They are kind, but oblivious, so it’s hard to be firm.
Anywho this was never a problem FOR US in the past, because we’d just make up a random access code for them that was only valid on the days we were away.
I might have to replace the door.
Does anyone know of rechargeable lithium that can report proportional voltage to emulate what alkaline does? I really want to use rechargeable for everything but not knowing any estimate of when they will die is a huge downside for something like a lock
They do NOT.
One key benefit of these AAs batteries offer full voltage until they die. They’re stepped down to 1.5v from 5v. But any low voltage indicators are based on dropping voltage and don’t work with the tech. They just straight up die.
I just stopped using them in things that are time sensitive like my game controller, but I’m fine with an electronic toothbrush or milk foamer using it since they perform better with full voltage.
Hey I haven’t used this model specifically but a PSA to anyone with a motorized lock:
If your battery is dying seemingly too fast (and it’s not an old battery), your deadbolt is probably misaligned. The friction takes a huge toll on the motor and battery life. They should last MONTHS at minimum.
This is why I haven’t replaced mine. There’s no real “fixing” this door. It needs to be replaced. That being said if you shoulder check it hard enough it will break open. Ah the fun of inheriting a house that sat vacant for 3 years and had no maintenance for longer than that.
I take it the frame is busted? If not you might be able to just adjust the hinges. I was amazed when I learned how many door problems can be fixed by shimming and carefully smacking the hinges
The frame is rotting. Thank fuck we have a roof over it because you can see through it a bit. Well, you could before I temp fixed it with spray foam. Gotta get the roof leak fixed first then that.
and it’s not just vertical alignment, but horizontal too!
the problem with mine was that the weather stripping was pushing the door inwards, not that the hinges needed adjustment. had to move the latch plate inwards / file clearance into it so the deadbolt would catch where the knob latch let the door sit
Great point. The deadbolt should move with no external Resistance.
Sound is a good indicator. The motor doesn’t just “get bad” over time like that unless it’s struggling so if it’s louder than when you got it, reassess the installation
Rechargeable Eneloops are Ni-Mh which makes the nominal voltage 1.2V where as the voltage on an Alkaline battery is 1.5V. The rechargeable ones are worse than normal Alkaline batteries. You can get rechargeable 1.5V Lithium AA batteries from Nitecore. Those are much better than Ni-Mhs.
The only issue with the rechargeable lithium batteries is that their voltage curve is extremely sharp, so they hold the 1.5v right up until they die.
Depending on how the electronics and battery match up, your deadbolt might not be able to warn you about a low battery condition, which might mean you get locked out. I currently have two doors, both with a keypad entry, so it’s extremely unlikely they’ll both be dead at the same time. If you only have one keypad entry, then you should probably avoid using lithium rechargeable AA’s.
fyi there are some Lithium rechargeables that have a “low voltage” indicator, where they drop from 1.5v to around 1.1v when low so that it’ll set off any low charge circuit
brand I found is XTAR, but I’m sure there’s others
Just my 2c but I have 15 year old Eneloops still going. They do have a lower voltage output which isn’t good for certain applications, but they are great for kids toys, remotes, flashlights/headlamps in my experience. Of the probably 60-70 I’ve bought, the only failures I’ve had are with the Pros, don’t waste money on those. I’ll have to check out Nitecore though.
Have you tried puttting in a wired power supply instead?
Why not a cable for power? Does the door need to be able to go somewhere that doesn’t have electricity?
I can’t answer for the OP - but “it would be a pain in the arse” would be my answer.
I have an electronic lock on my holiday condo; it’s handy to be able to remotely let someone in if I need them to service the AC when I’m not there or something, and just in general it’s just, well, useful.
The batteries last at least 6 months, so honestly I wouldn’t bother wiring it in even if it was an option. And the “batteries run out” failure mode isn’t exactly a disaster - there’s a traditional key I can use in an emergency, and the other “plan B” is the USB-C port on the bottom of the handle on the outside - worst comes to the worst you can just plug in a USB powerbank to power it up.
Idk how they are built but i’d guess any power outtage would lock you out right?
So the same as a battery running out?
Pass through charging is also a thing, so the 10Ah battery can charge when mains is up and then continue during a power cut.
In my experience some may need to be reset to start charging. Depends on what you have though. Either way give it a test first.
May be an access issue. Enough distance and running a cable becomes a pain in the ass in a way that can make this more appealing. It’s why I don’t have an Ethernet cable in one room of my house; I’d have to climb either across the attic, or in the crawlspace, and neither are gonna happen voluntarily. So I deal with a crappy wifi dongle for the ancient PC in that room instead.
I switched to rechargeable 3 years ago. I’m not trying to shill for a specific brand, but EBL has worked great and they’ve paid for themselves vs the disposable AA and AAA batteries. They last 4-6 weeks in door locks depending on use, the one in direct sun doesn’t last as long. Haven’t bought any alkaline AA/AAA in years.
YMMV.
KmAhs
Mfer do you mean Ahs?
Nah it’s kilometer amp hours
No kilomilliamp silly
Of course! How could I have been so stupid…🤦♂️
Should be Wh anyway.
If you want correct units, use J.
I agree, but at this point have given up and reluctantly put up with Wh.
Different batteries use different measurement standards.
imagine having a door/lock that requires power…
Imagine living somewhere that requires a locked door…
Some of us can’t afford to move somewhere nicer. Recently found out I live in the most deprived town in the entire county, yay!
Yet we have fancy houses worth 7 figures along by the beach… So if despite that we are still the most deprived on average, how do you think the rest of us have it?
In the worst areas of town most households don’t own a car. In the rich part of town almost none of them have less than 2.
Being poor doesn’t equal robberies and physical danger. I live in one the poorest rural areas of my state. We don’t need locks as a rule because we choose not to steal from or assault our neighbors. We understand we are in this together and we need to help each other to make it.
But you would not choose to live here because of the perceived lack of “big city” amenities. Cell service is spotty at best. Even electricity can be optional due to weather. It’s often dangerously cold. Heath care is an hour plus away. (I was just informed I need to switch an antibiotic I was prescribed just yesterday for another. I now get to make another 100 mile round trip to then nearest pharmacy to get it), Even groceries are an hour away. So we grow and forage a lot of our food. Jobs are few and poorly paid and require travel to get to. Our kids often need to leave the area and move 100s or even a 1000+ miles away to find work and higher education.
It ain’t about the money. it’s about the “want to”.
Hard to say. I think England is pretty different in that sense, rural areas are usually more expensive than deprived towns. At least from everything I have seen. I wouldn’t mind a remote area, but they cost more, especially in the county and region I live in.
Scotland and maybe parts of Wales have a few options. But we are talking like a derelict barn with a roof that doesn’t hold out water and no road access, it still costs more than any decent flat here does, but its a little cheaper than most houses.
If its land which you can’t legally live on, same area of land would be like 1/10th the price. They REALLY do not want you to buy some woodland or farmland and stick a caravan or cabin on it to live in.
I’m not trying to start an argument, but I don’t think you understand or appreciate just how remote some places can be in the US. In England you are never more than an hour away from a big city. 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) to the nearestpharmacy, which likely isn’t in a big town, is nothing to sneeze at. Those type of places are cheap and bountiful here.
In England you are never more than an hour away from a big city
It sounds sorta like some parts of Cornwall then, but that is now getting filled with holiday homes and airBNBs so generally you have deprived locals and rich people from London pushing up the housing prices to way beyond what anyone who is actually from the area can afford.
don’t need to, I have it. it’s great. don’t need to carry keys around or fumble with them to open the door, people can get inside without me, it can be set up to auto-lock/unlock on a schedule if you want, and I never have to worry about being locked out of my house
It’s pretty convenient actually
Yeah, seems like it /s
I dunno what’s wrong with their lock, but I use eneloops on my lock and I swap the batteries probably 2-3 times a year
I’ve had to replace our batteries in our code lock a couple times in 6 months, but I use rechargable batteries so and just swap it out
In most cases when something is convenient you’re giving something up for that convenience.
yes, I have to change the batteries once a year
and in my case because my ex chose the wrong lock and I can’t be bothered to pay to swap it out, I also have to deal with a touchscreen instead of buttons
And that something ironically at times can be convenience.
Imagine being locked out of your house because you forgot to bring keys with you.
Like, I’m sorry if you disagree with this, but holy shit, having electric locks on your doors where you can get into your house based off a fingerprint or a code is a fucking game changer.
I have two on my doors, one on the front, one on the back, and I installed them at a week or two apart, so if one of them starts complaining that the battery is low, the other one’s still good. If one of them goes dead while I’m on vacation, the other one’s good.
Not to mention that you can unlock the door from your phone in case somebody comes over unexpectedly, or if you have a friend coming in from out of town and you’re going to be at work when they arrive, you can create a code for them to unlock your front door and come in while you’re not even there.
Plus they still have key locks that I can use if the batteries are completely dead and they can be powered by a 9 volt battery in case I don’t have the key with me.
They’re freaking awesome and I am glad they exist.
You can’t lock yourself out of the house with a deadbolt, they require the key to lock
You can also leave without a key and then your roommate also leaves and locks the door.
But you can lock the handle and leave without keys.
You can leave the handle unlocked, and just use the deadbolt this way.
You can leave the handle unlocked, and just use the deadbolt this way.
This is how I have locked my house for the last like 100 years without a smart deadbolt.
Imagine not having a lockpick kit on you to just let yourself in
Imagine having keys so you can let yourself in when you forget your lockpick kit.
Yeah and it makes it pathetically easy to break into your house. Just search online for some of these “security locks using fingerprints”. Its even easier to break into sometimes than a regular shitty lock.
Unless you’ve got a steel reinforced frame bolted into the foundation backing your steel reinforced door, a strong leg and a sturdy boot will get through practically anything you can buy at a hardware store, and a crowbar will take care of the rest.
Electronic mechanisms are more prone to people being able to be able to access areas without evidence of tampering using simple scripts from the internet, whereas lockpicking is not employed by most burglars. (And as stated previously, level of commitment is greater when destruction is involved, which deters most.)
Having a noisy break-in also means you are more capable of responding if the need arises.
If all you care about is deterrence, just own a shotgun and have a loud dog at home.
To me it’s more like the Kia cars where insurance can easily roll over if a pathetically easy bypass is found. Most people won’t care until houses get cleaned out without evidence of forced entry. Domestic abusers also tend to love persistent access to these things too.
Overall not a fan.
Most analog deadbolts are also pathetically weak and can be bumped or picked quickly with no sign of entry. Networked electric locks just let people have another avenue as well. Some dont, as being electric doesnt mean people network them. The good networked ones tend to use secure zwave (so called zwave s2), which is an improved security protocol that is not as easy to hack as “run some scripts.” The skills needed to breach it are going to be “high effort” compared to a kick.
Some electric locks have gone keyless, so they actually invert this. Generally these locks have a way to plug in a USB C cable to power them if the batteries die, but have no key access. This power port has no data access. Mixed with a secure network protocol or none at all, they are likely more secure than many analog options.
So does me forgetting to lock the door.
I once left my garage doors open all weekend with thousands of dollars of tools in it, along with my motorcycle with the key in it. My garage at the time was quite visible from a very busy street. I got lucky and nothing was stolen. My garage doors are smart now, so that doesn’t happen any more. Sure, someone could hack my home assistant server and open the garage, but that’s way less likely than my continued pattern of forgetfulness.
Based on that logic, my house also has smart locks now that automatically lock when I leave. I will say that they aren’t cheapo who-knows fingerprint locks, they’re made by a real company and just have a keypad with a lengthy entry code. The only added vulnerabilities should be my home assistant server and the entry code.
You know what a security theatre is? Thats a fingerprint lock.
I’m not sure what that has to do with my comment. I don’t have a fingerprint lock.
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I have a similar one and can still use a key…
Yea, it is nice being able to check if you locked the door from bed. Definition of luxury, but I didn’t buy this one it was a gift.
Ok, you get a pass from my “or just use a damn normal lock” dad’s finger wagging 😂
I was super anti smart locks until I left my garage open and doors unlocked for an entire weekend because I’m forgetful. With smart doors and locks that doesn’t happen and, possibly a controversial take, doors being closed and locked by reputable smart devices is more secure than them standing open. Most crimes are those of opportunity, and a thief is just gonna try the door and break a window when it doesn’t open if they’re willing to go that far.
I came into this thread to scoff at the idea of needing batteries for a lock.
I’m coming round to the idea…
I can head out for a walk without bringing my keys with me. Kids can open the door while I’m grabbing the groceries or other stuff. Can provide a temporary code for someone to check on it while I’m out. Family can have a code for emergencies, or if they need to watch the kids.
It’s hella convenient actually.
It’s the best. We have auto locking deadbolts that lock themselves after a period of time. Each family member has their own code to get in and it has a normal key hole if you want.
Sounds amazing. I’ll know if I didn’t lock the door.
I use one because I often forget to lock it and someone walked into my home while I was in bed one night.
I bought Xtar rechargeable AA just for the deadbolt cause I got tired of replacing enveloops every few weeks. They last a long time, but when they drop to 1.1v the deadbolt stops working. So, battery level is always 100% until the day the lock doesn’t work.
If I’m thinking correctly, that’s because the xtars die at 1.1v, but the lock still thinks that’s plenty of juice so it reports 100%?
But normal AA are 1.5v… weird. I guess they aren’t dead dead until .8 or. 9v, but still.
Assuming you’re using 4 batteries, that means the lock is seeing 4.4v and not reporting a low battery, because real alkalines would go down to 3.2v or 3.6v.
So what you can try doing, is adding a small diode in series with the positive lead of the battery. A schottky would get you .3 to .5 ish voltage drop, bringing your 4.4v down to 4.1 or 3.9v, which would probably be enough to trigger the warning?
Or if you went for a regular rectifier diode at .7 to 1v drop, you could bring that to 3.7v or 3.4v, which would put you right in the zone of normal batteries dying.
Diodes are cheap, it’s worth a shot!
Not exactly, my schledge deadbolt has zwave so I can monitor battery percentage in HA. The problem is that the Xtar is a constant voltage rechargeable lithium battery with a constant 1.5V output. They drop to 1.1V to signal low charge. When that happens the deadbolt stops working soon after.
Does 1.1v not signal low voltage? How long does it work for after that? Could you set up an alert so that the moment it changes you get a text message? Or a light turns red or something?
Just curious. I haven’t played with HA, though it’s a long term goal.
Well done, and I’m surprised at all the technophobes in a 3d printing community.
I mean, there has always been a correlation between being technical (as in profession/skills) and being paranoid about technology. When you are in the field, you get a window into how ignorant most of the tech products are security-wise for example. And I guess a good portion of 3d printing people - especially the ones on lemmy - are technical (as in profession/skills), not/not only tech lovers.
Considering a lock is pickable in a few seconds, what’s the security risk? A lot of these locks even dont have keys, so you’re removing a very easy and common vulnerability.
When you are in the field, you get a window into how ignorant most of the tech products are security-wise for example
Most people just don’t actually think for themselves is the issue. Regular deadbolts aren’t secure themselves already.
Also, if the door is locked, they just break a window or kick a door in. A deadbolt isn’t a good way to secure you house regardless, you need reinforced doors and frames too. So without all these extras, what risk is an electronic deadbolt above a regular one?
Can’t have your keys stolen and your house just walked in either, so that’s MULTIPLE security avenues fixed with an electronic lock.
And very few people are going to be capable of hacking these compared to older and easier methods as well.
At this point I’m quite heavily invested in smart home tech, but smart locks are one of the few things I haven’t touched.
Any exploit found in these devices could be packaged into a smartphone app and easily accessed by anyone. Someone hacking the lock that way would look no different to a legitimate user. Firmware updates for these devices seem sporadic at best.
It’s a security concern I don’t want to have to worry about, even if there are convenience benefits.
You can buy keypad entry deadbolts that don’t connect to external wireless devices. I find they’re a good compromise between convenience and security.
Any exploit found in these devices could be packaged into a smartphone app and easily accessed by anyone.
Anyone can also buy lockpicks, break a window, kick the door down, my electronic lock isn’t even Bluetooth or use a phone app, so that’s not even a possibility with the majority of them.
Hacking it would require technology and skills not everyone has, there’s easier ways to get in your house than to hack it. If that’s your worry, than you better not use your deadbolt at all. It can be picked in seconds.
Unless you’ve got a reinforced door and frame, a deadbolt isn’t stopping anyone from getting in.
Yea its weird. I think its the AI and Data center hate. I am as local as I can be for my stuff and AI free. 99% of my stuff is Home Assistant, ESPhome, and Zigwave.
Sometimes IOT devices don’t make rational sense to install. This is up there with “smart” lightbulbs in terms of creating a vulnerability through convenience.
When I 3d print a plastic phone mount for my bike, that doesn’t make the base bike any easier to steal. This does make your house less secure, even though it adds utility.
Do you now know how incredibly easy it is to pick a lock?
Yes. Being a script kiddie is still much easier.
…. Than you have absolutely zero concept about how easy it is to break into a regular deadbolt. Being a script kiddie or coding is not essier. Using a bump key requires zero skill.
Think of this of more like putting a smart system on a cable bike lock. Do they need to hack it? When you can do it faster and quieter with cable cutters anyways. And that requires zero skill and a cheap $15 tool vs an expensive phone. Vagrants aren’t known for being technical and owning phones or other technology. So with yours it’s only specific people who could do it, vs anyone.
Lockpicking a door is so fucking easy that the biggest vulnerability here is the lock itself probably, you need way more skills to hack the electronic part than to lockpick the lock
Downloading an RFID/NFC spoofer app and loading a script from github?
RFID is something you will not hack with a phone app and anyway you need to know what values the RFID/NFC reader on the other side wants and that’s if the the lock has NFC or RFID technologies and not something else
Creating programmable cards is exactly what we did at uni using an android app and a peripheral lol
(Including getting into utility rooms back when the security was an afterthought)
Yes but did you made an NFC or an RFID? As much as i know, most phones have only partial(eg: only reading) or no support to RFID
And again, you’d need to know what the reader on the door want, you cannot just give it any random data and hope it works, i could accept only an encoded password in SHA-256 and you would not be able to do much really, there are probably ways to break thru but at that point is faster and easier to lockpick the door
So long as it has a physical backup and can stay on my network I’m happy. I also need low power draw to stay bellow my 20w idle power budget but that’s a me problem.
If anyone has a vertically mounted stainless steel option with a keypad to recommend I’m all ears!
I’m curious about your power budget. Does that include appliances like water heater, fridge, etc? Or is it just for smart devices?
I’m really impressed by your efficiency. My router alone draws over half your budget. Add the cable modem and a 5GbE switch and that takes me 50% overbudget. And that’s just network infrastructure. With everything else in my apartment I’m probably somewhere around 800w, pessimistically.
That would be all 12v devices that run 24/7. So without the fridge compressor, water desalinator, 120v cooking appliances (when I have a surplus of solar and don’t use propane) and the hot water tank (although during the winter I heat water using a 4w pump and heat exchanger on my wood stove). I guess my work laptop isn’t included in there but I do my computing on a VPS since anything but a low power laptop puts a noticeable drain on my power reserves.
I run off 660w of solar so that’s why I’m so limited. Network runs off a portable open-wrt router plus a LTE hotspot (5G sucks at sea level in my experience) and most smart things are done on my Victron Cerbo GX.
During the summer I generate about 53kW/month and use about 74kW/month. The difference comes from a small generator and the times I run my diesel engine to get around and the 70A alternator charges the batteries.
So my average is ~100w all in.
Oof. My Yale has a hub and the AAs last 9-12months.
